You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
1 John 3:1
1 Behold [eido], what manner [potapos] of love [agape] the Father [pater] hath bestowed [didomi] upon us [hemin], that [hina] we should be called [kaleo] the sons [teknon] of God [theos]: therefore [dia] [touto] the world [kosmos] knoweth [ginosko] us [hemas] not [ou], because [hoti] it knew [ginosko] him [autos] not [ou]. KJV-Interlinear 1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. NASB
John thus far has shown that there are two sides of life - the light and the dark. They are mutually exclusive. One does not exist inside of the other. They are totally separate in the spiritual realm.
John further has shown that if you apply yourself to the obedience of Gods mandates, then your life will result in certain and sure prosperity and happiness. Likewise if you fail to apply Gods mandates to your life, then you will suffer certain and sure misery and loss. Both respective results are guaranteed. You cannot pretend them away for something else of your preference.
You do have an obligation to grow up. Remaining a child (a whining two year old - spiritually) is not the appropriate purpose and objective of your life.
Now, John will introduce the love of God. And not just from some emotional attachment, but from the abundance of quality that only God can give. Remember what our definition of abundance is - more than can possibly be utilized in a infinite series of lifetimes. That is a lot. And only God can provide it.
For starters, mankind is dust of the earth. That is the meaning of 'adam,' dust. And even more than that, it is worthless dust. So even our dusty dirty makeup is worthless - of absolutely no value whatsoever.
But God found a way to take mankind (worthless dust) and elevate him to the status of 'children of God.' Paul uses the phrase, 'sons of God.' That latter phrase is also a reference to adopted sons, and adult first born sons. Both of these together come to mean that we (who believe in Christ), were once members of the worthless dust of humanity, but God has taken us into His very own family (Father, Son, and Spirit) and made us into His very own children qualifying us for an inheritance as is appropriate to the adult first born son.
We, having been born into the family can never be unborn out of the family. I know, that seems rather simple, but there are folks who think they can be kicked out of Gods family. Not so. Just as you are born physically into the family of this world, regardless of what your parents think of you, they cannot change your genetics. Therefore once born into a family, you are always a part of that family. Nothing can change it.
But unlike the physical family where you might have been born into a silver or wooden spoon environment, Gods family is the infinitely best of the infinitely best of the infinitely best. Did I mention that it was infinite? Of all the possible families you could be born into, Gods family is the best. There is no better situation to find yourself in.
This separates us from the rest of the world. Those who refuse to believe in Christ demonstrate their unbelievable stupidity.
Just as they do not recognize God, so too, the world will refuse to recognize we believers, as having some special privilege in life (as children of God).
Whenever a person has much, then those who have less are generally resentful. Therefore, the world will resent any and all believers.
The world in its arrogance desires and lusts for titles, and awards, and recognition's. The world will invent many forms of celebrations in which it will award titles, and trophies, and recognition's to entertainers, to leaders, to many in the social spotlight and so forth. But we already know that these awards and such, are meaningless and will fade into oblivion sooner or later.
What God offers is far better. And consequently the worlds awards will not satisfy, but will only lead to greater resentment and rejection of those who have Gods ear - mature believers. By the way, the best of the best goes only to mature believers, not to immature believers.
The expressions 'adopted sons' and 'children of God,' imply actual parentage, and are not just casual phrases of identity. Too, they imply an expectation from the parent. Mature growth is that expectation. The two year old cannot have the keys to the family car. He has to grow up. The insolent teen cannot have the keys to the car. He has to become respectful and responsible and so forth.
Obedience and responsibility and manners lead to greater opportunities. Disobedience, irresponsibility, and a bad attitude always lead to loss of family privileges.
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End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
